"what is unprecedented here is the capacity...people are going to have to wait...there is going to be contractor backlog" - Sammy Chu — NPR
Charles Lane of WSHU in Long Island reports the rush to lift houses has regulators scurrying to catch up. View full entry
Today’s piece was going to be an op-ed column in the New York Times.
But they declined to publish what I supplied. Which was this... - Banksy
— Better Out than In
Six months after the Japanese government approved Hadid’s proposals, the country’s parliament has signalled a reverse in its support.
Hakubun Shimomura, the minister in charge of education, sports and science, said that the New National Stadium would cost 300 billion yen (£1.8 billion) to build and that was “too massive a budget”.
The design of the 80,000-seat stadium will be preserved but Mr Shimomura said: “We need to rethink this and scale it down.”
— standard.co.uk
Imagine a hospital on top of a mountain. How would doctors and patients get in and out? In Portland, Ore., commuters don't have to drive up a twisty, two-lane road to get there. Instead, they glide up 500 feet in the air in a gleaming silver gondola.
Portland's aerial tram connects the south waterfront down near the river to the Oregon Health and Science University on top of Marquam Hill.
— npr.org
MoMA will launch the first workshop for "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities" starting Saturday, Oct. 26 at MoMA PS1 in New York City. In this workshop series, six interdisciplinary teams will propose innovative ways of how to perceive urban growth as a response to the... View full entry
Is it necessary to poll hundreds of coffee drinkers to determine that round tables "protect self-esteem for those...flying solo"? Or could an architect have come to the same determination by believing their impression that round tables work better in some environments than square tables, be it by observing patrons at a local cafe or in a public park, or by choosing a round table over a square one themselves? — archidose.blogspot.com
To read the commentary on this article here on Archinect, go here. View full entry
After years of witnessing the ravaging effects of China's rapid transformation from a rural to an urban society, the Tsao brothers decided to devise an alternative. It's no easy feat in a country that has been destroying evidence of its past at an unprecedented rate. At a lecture at the Architectural League last April, Wang Shu, China's most prominent architect, bemoaned the "crazy change" sweeping his homeland, noting that 90 percent of traditional buildings have been destroyed in recent years. — online.wsj.com
Want to work for TsAO & McKOWN Architects? They're currently hiring! View full entry
What exactly are [UNStudio] going to share? Will it be more than just some sketches they have laying around? Could it be a big database of materials and tools? Or maybe a bucketload of failed competition entries? Unfortunately, the platform features none of this. At his very moment there are only 27 articles available (they’ve been online for 6 months now), 26 of which were written by UNStudio, and most of them are as vague and imprecise as their view on open source. — failedarchitecture.com
Previously on Archinect: UNStudio launches open source knowledge sharing View full entry
"BikeHive" by Zijie Cao & Xin Wu of Workshop XZ gives a fun twist to the beehive concept. The proposal was one of over 1,000 entries that submitted to the Timber in the City: Urban Habitats competition where participants had to design a midrise, mixed-use complex that uses innovative wood construction and addresses the housing needs of the Red Hook waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn. — bustler.net
In related news, the opening reception of the Timber in the City exhibition at Parsons The New School of Design in New York City will be today, Oct. 24 from 6-8 p.m. Previously: Timber in the City Competition: Design Students Imagine a Mixed-Use Complex for Red Hook View full entry
Architecture is stuck between past and future -- years of anticipatory planning designs a structure that, once constructed, is stuck referring to all that came before. A building can't actually predict the future, although it seems like the best ones always run the risk of trying. Jonathan... View full entry
A question I have heard a lot lately is “why can’t developers build housing for the people who need it most instead of for the rich.” Let’s look at what a typical multi-family development project in a reasonably central part of San Francisco would cost to build (in a very simplified way). I’m assuming an 800 square foot apartment in a five story 100 unit wood-framed building over a concrete first story (very common in San Francisco)... — markasaurus.com
One of the most widely published photographers of contemporary architecture, Iwan Baan is noted for his documentary images that narrate the life and interactions occurring within architecture. His approachable photos focused on the portrayal of people in the sociocultural context of architecture intrigue such clients as Rem Koolhaas, Toyo Ito and Zaha Hadid, but also The New York Times, Domus or Abitare. — youtube.com
Non-profit organization CyArk and its partners are on an ambitious mission against time to digitally preserve 500 cultural heritage sites around the world before they are destroyed by natural disasters, human aggression, climate change, urban sprawl, and other threats. The "CyArk 500 Challenge"... View full entry
On behalf of the shareholders of Battersea Power Station, Battersea Power Station Development Company announces that Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners, two of the world’s most innovative and renowned architectural practices have been chosen to design Phase 3 at Battersea Power Station. This will be architect Frank Gehry’s first building in London. — batterseapowerstation.co.uk
Phase 3 will be one of the most exciting areas of the Battersea Power Station development, otherwise known as the High Street. Being a retail pedestrian street it is the gateway to the entire development and the new Northern Line extension. Phase 3 will comprise two residential development zones... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the September ABI score was 54.3, up from a mark of 53.8 in August. This score reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 58.6, down from the reading of 63.0 the previous month. — aia.org
